Page 125 of Grumpy Billionaire Bad Boy

Ivy stands from her spot at the table, August sitting in the chair next to her, busy doing something on his phone. "London."

"Ivy." I glare at her, endless bad thoughts running through my mind since she was the one to expose me to Archer before I had gotten a chance to do it myself. I hate her for ruining what we had before it even began, but I sort of applaud her for doing something I don't know if I'd ever have been capable of doing.

A month later and the entire situation feels as fresh as that fateful morning, when things felt so right, only to end so badly.

I never want to see you again, the final words Archer spoke to me, the ones that sealed our fate permanently.

"Didn't realize you'd be joining us today," she says.

"I came over to have a chat with your brother." I slap Archer on the shoulder, his muscles tense under his shirt. "Isn't that right, big boy?"

Archer's jaw clenches and his nostrils flare slightly.

"We have no secrets," Ivy announces. "What you need to say to him, you can say to the rest of us." She comes around the front of the table like she's daring me to make a move so she can finish things off.

Rationally, I know I should be afraid, not just of her, but every person in this room, but how can I be when the worst isbehind me? Nothing they could do to me could ever be worse than anything I've already been through.

"Fine." I turn toward Archer. "Do you want to tell your siblings what you put in my apartment?"

Archer moves quickly, grabbing my shoulders and navigating me away from earshot. "Okay, fine, we can talk alone."

"What, I thought there were no secrets?" I blurt out loud enough so they can hear me. I don't give a fuck if they find out their brother is a stalker who broke into my apartment and left me hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts.

"Bedroom, now." Archer shoves me through the door, kicking it shut once he's through. "You have a big mouth, don't you?"

I spin out of his grasp and fold my arms over my chest. "What the fuck, Archer?"

"What?" He mimics my stance.

"What do you mean,what? Are you really going to pretend like you didn't break into my fucking apartment?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I narrow my gaze. "You're telling me you didn't? You swear to me it wasn't you."

He pinches his brow and exhales dramatically. "Why do you have to be so difficult? Just say thank you."

"No, absolutely not." I shake my head. "That was a violation of my privacy. Not to mention how you watch my every move. How did you even know I wanted that dress, Archer? Huh? How did you know I didn't have anything to wear? How could you have possibly known those things unless you were watching me, listening to my conversations?" I tap my shoe on the floor. "It has to stop, Archer. It's uncalled for. There's no reason for it. You said you never wanted to see me again. Remember? You're telling me you're a liar?"

"You're one to talk," he scoffs.

I point my finger at him. "That's not fair. You didn't even give me a chance to explain."

He steps closer, his presence nearly suffocating me. "You don't deserve a chance to explain."

"Fine. Whatever. If you don't want me to, I won't. But you have to stop fucking stalking me. It's not romantic."

"I wasn't trying to be romantic." His dark eyes meet mine and I can't help but linger my gaze on his lips, reminiscing on the way they felt pressed against my body.

"You're confusing, you know that?" I swallow harshly and keep looking at him.

"There's nothing confusing about this. You're reading into something that isn't there." Archer is the first to break away and walk to the door. He hesitates, his hand on the knob. "What we had died that day, London. There's no coming back from that."

I hate the way his words slice through my heart. I hate that I care at all. I hate that I wish I could turn back the clock, but that's not possible and there's nothing I can do to change his mind. And even if I could, he's not the only one who got hurt—the way he threw me out of his apartment, the way he tossed me aside as if I never mattered to him, that isn't something I could forgive, either. What we had might have been powerful and passionate and life-changing, but it was fleeting and I have to come to terms with the fact that it's gone.

Only, I wish he would, too.

Maybe living next to each other really was a bad idea.

---